Submitted by State Sen. Norm Needleman
(September 28, 2024) — The Red Cross is asking Connecticut residents to make donations to help relieve a critical need for blood. Donors of all types are welcome, with Type O blood donors and platelets especially needed. Visit www.redcross.org to find a blood drive near you; the Red Cross is offering $15 e-gift cards through September 30, 2024 and will offer $10 Amazon gift cards in October for donors.
Overdose deaths nationally and in Connecticut have declined this year, with efforts to battle opioid addiction seeing positive progress. The Centers for Disease Control said the national overdose death rate was down roughly 10% from 2023 to 2024 in the first half of the year, while Connecticut saw a stronger decline of 21.7% year-over-year in the six-month metric. Efforts show that harm reduction and increased access to overdose reversal drugs are working, but continued efforts to support sobriety and battle the scourge of addiction are necessary to continue to save lives.
At the end of September, the federal Department of Health and Human Services will resume sending free COVID tests to households nationwide. The move comes as the start of respiratory virus season officially begins on October 1, 2024. At the website www.covidtests.gov starting at the end of the month, households can order four free tests that can help sick individuals determine whether they have COVID. The illness is not as severe as it was at the start of the pandemic, but can still cause serious illness and death in older and at-risk patients. New vaccine boosters are now available from Moderna, Pfizer and NovaVax for people interested in up-to-date protection against recent variants.
State Treasurer Erick Russell has announced that Connecticut has invested $608.2 million in excess revenues into pension funds for retired teachers and state workers, including $335 million deposited into the state employees retirement system and $273.2 million into the teachers retirement system. These investments will reduce state debt and support assets in state pension funds, lowering annual expenses in the process. An additional estimated $327.6 million is expected to be invested into these funds in coming months, which will mean the state has invested a collective $9.045 billion into paying down pension debt in the last five years.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has developed a fall foliage report that shows the state can expect peak fall scenery throughout October. The report indicates that peak foliage in the northwest and northeast corners will show from October 3, 2024 to October 8, 2024; in eastern and western towns and cities in the middle of the state from October 16, 2024 to October 23, 2024; in shoreline and lower Connecticut River Valley towns from October 24, 2024 to October 30, 2024; and in the state’s southwest corner during the second week of November.
